Allies Hold Line On Security Plans

November 14, 2002|By Sarah Lyall The New York Times

LONDON — Governments of Western countries named as potential targets of terrorist attacks in an audiotape purporting to contain the voice of Osama bin Laden said on Wednesday that they were treating the tape's message seriously but that the implication that bin Laden is alive had not forced them to change security arrangements.

The tape warned Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Australia to keep their distance from the "criminal gang" in Washington, lest they suffer terrorist attacks of their own; it was broadcast Tuesday on the Arab satellite television channel al-Jazeera. Officials are still analyzing the tape to determine whether the voice is in fact bin Laden's.

In Germany, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, Rainer Lingenthal, said the government thought that the tape was probably authentic. But even if the voice is bin Laden's, Lingenthal said, it "merely underscores" the government's existing threat analysis and risk estimates.

"There is no new potential threat that would suggest we should modify our risk estimation," he said.

Lingenthal played down a warning two weeks ago by the head of the German intelligence agency that there was a concrete risk of an attack in Germany. "The clear assessment of all ministries," he said, "is that there is no concrete evidence of any attack aimed at Germany, neither in terms of time, people, targets, objectives or specific methods."

In Britain, a spokesman for the Foreign Office said of bin Laden, "While there may be a good chance he is alive, we can't be certain, and we're constantly reassessing our reaction in light of all the evidence."

Britain has been in a heightened state of worry in the last couple of days, since Prime Minister Tony Blair warned in a speech of possible terrorist attacks on the country. But officials have tried to play down reports of tightened security, saying the government is reacting merely to the general possibility of an attack, not to any specific threat.

In Canada, too, officials played down their response, saying the tape did not bring any significant change to the country's security stance. "From the beginning -- from Sept. 11, 2001, and even before that -- it's been seen as a global threat, and only a global response can deal with it," said Rodney Moore, a spokesman for the Foreign Affairs Department. "No country has felt isolated from this."

Nor did the mention of Canada in the same breath as Britain and the United States come as much of a surprise. Last week Ward Elcock, the director of the chief Canadian intelligence agency, warned in a speech in Vancouver, "Our close friendship and support of the United States, including our participation in Afghanistan, could see Canada or Canadians targeted for attack."

The Australian government said it would not be "blackmailed" by new threats attributed to bin Laden against the United States and its allies.

Australia, the first country to offer military aid to Washington after the Sept. 11 attacks, has a unit of its Special Forces serving in Afghanistan. More than 60 Australians are known to have died in bombings on Bali, Indonesia, on Oct. 12, which is now attributed to groups linked to bin Laden and al-Qaida.

In Parliament on Wednesday, Prime Minister John Howard said, "We will not be intimidated by threats from terrorists."

Australia's foreign affairs minister, Alexander Downer, said in a television interview: "Australia will not be blackmailed by Osama bin Laden or anybody else."